| When I decided to take a break from Madison for Thanksgiving, my brain switched to holiday mode with amazing speed. Needless to say, I had a lot of trouble getting "inspired" to write; there was always so much lazing around to do! But something that I witnessed in Austin, Texas (which is where I spent Thanksgiving) spurred me on to write. My husband and I were taking a leisurely walk in a residential area one evening. All of a sudden, we heard tires squealing as an SUV came thundering across the road, spun out of control, and crashed into a tree on the median. We stood there for a moment, absolutely stunned, for if the SUV had not crashed into the tree, it would have crashed into us. We ran up to the crash site and saw a little 8-year old boy, his sixth grade sister and her boyfriend stumbled out. The girl and the little boy were crying hysterically, and while my husband tried to see if anyone else was trapped and then called the cops, I did my best to just hold them and comfort them. That was when the children's mother, probably in her early 40s stepped out of the car. It didn't take us long to figure out what had happened. The mother was drunk and was driving the SUV. She lost control and crashed. It was as simple as that. While we waited with the children as the police questioned them and gave their mother the DUI test, I mused over the last few minutes we had witnessed. What kind of parent would do that to her children? When you become a parent, you automatically take on the responsibility of nurturing your children, educating them, and teaching them the right values -- in short, raising them to be intelligent and caring adults the best way you possibly can. It's definitely not an easy task to accomplish, what with the world being the way it is right now, but you just have to do your best. I wondered what this mother was thinking when she chose to drive her children, when she was drunk; and what led her to be so drunk in the first place so as to jeopardize the lives of her children. What struck me even more was that there was not the least bit of remorse on her face or in her words, while she watched a stranger (me) comfort her children. Try as I might, I was not able to arrive at any logical conclusion for her behavior, nor grant her any excuse. The children were soon led away by the people now in charge and my husband and I slowly walked home. We read of numerous accidents such as these every day, and the numbers seem to keep increasing with alarming rapidity. Sadly, it merely indicates lack of control of the mind, of discipline, and of principles. We seem to be ever so ready to give up when life gets tough and to give in to the quickest means of escape from reality. How far will these escape routes take us? How much are we willing to compromise the lives of our loved ones? We were all very lucky that Sunday evening to have gotten away with a battered SUV and a broken tree branch. But had that SUV crossed the median and a couple been crushed for enjoying an evening walk, or a child and his sister dead because they were in the back seat … well, let's just say that a few more names would have added up on that gory list of victims. This Thanksgiving, I learned a very valuable lesson. Life is hard. It will probably only get harder as the days go by. But there is no substitute for hard work and discipline. Be thankful for what you have, even if it is very little, for it is something that you've earned. Be thankful for your family and friends who will always support you through all your hardships. Take the time to smile a little and tell your loved ones how much they mean to you, because in the end, they'e what really matter. |
| Some accidents needn't happen by Ramya Kapadia |
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